


A Twisted Date

by Laragh



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Clowns, F/F, Fix-It of Sorts, Halloween, Working Their Shit Out Before It Blows Up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:48:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27301441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laragh/pseuds/Laragh
Summary: It’s Willow and Tara’s first Halloween together and things get a little twisted… (set soon after ‘Family’ but goes AU by the end)
Relationships: Tara Maclay/Willow Rosenberg
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	A Twisted Date

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Halloween!

“…and in local news, there’s been a third report of a clown attack in Sunnydale. Victims report waking to see a clown at the foot of their bed before passing out and re-awakening in the same spot with unusual bruising and a feeling of being drained—”  
  
  
Willow switched off the radio playing in the dorm and rolled her eyes.  
  
  
“If only they knew about the real things that go bump in the night, they wouldn’t be afraid of some clowns.”  
  
  
“You don’t think it’s weird?” Tara asked from the bed where she was playing with Miss Kitty.  
  
  
Willow lay down on her side on the bed and took the string from Tara.  
  
  
“I think it’s sleep paralysis,” she answered, matter-of-fact, “Mixed with a little mass hysteria. Maybe even a marketing tool. The circus _is_ in town.”  
  
  
“I-I don’t think it’s a very good marketing tool,” Tara replied with a frown, “Everyone was talking about boycotting.”  
  
  
“Well, good,” Willow replied haughtily as she lifted Miss Kitty to her face and smiled, “They don’t treat their animals very nice, anyway. Do they, Miss Kitty? No, they don’t. No, they don’t.”  
  
  
Having enough of being infantilized, Miss Kitty Fantastico flounced onto the floor and found a spot on the window to look out at all of the other black cats roaming through the night.  
  
  
Willow scooted over in the bed and smiled at Tara. She lifted the heavy pendant hanging from her girlfriend’s neck and held it in her palm.  
  
  
It was all dark reds and oranges as if Willow’s hair had been set aflame and captured in a gemstone. She had never seen it on Tara before.  
  
  
“That’s so pretty on you.”  
  
  
“It was my Mom’s,” Tara replied, trailing a finger around the gold plating the stone was set in, “I was always afraid to wear it…”  
  
  
“Because of your family being mega with the assholery?” Willow asked, a tad bluntly given the events involving said family was still so fresh.  
  
  
But Tara just shook her head softly.  
  
  
“She always said it was special. I didn’t want to lose it.”  
  
  
Willow let her hand fall away from the pendant to the spot beneath: Tara’s heart.  
  
  
“You’re not afraid anymore?”  
  
  
Tara looked up and Willow felt her heart quicken.  
  
  
“I am,” she said softly, “But I’ve learned that it’s not a bad thing to have something you love so much that you’re afraid to lose it. Not that it stops the fear…”  
  
  
She blushed bashfully and looked down.  
  
  
“Just as long as, um, you don’t cast any spells for that reason.”  
  
  
She looked back up with a crooked smile and Willow had no doubt this was the smile she wanted to wake up to every morning for the rest of her life.  
  
  
“Your smile is so pretty on you, too.”  
  
  
She leaned in and kissed the corner of it, then Tara’s lips properly. Her hand rose up Tara’s neck and cupped her cheek.  
  
  
“I’m so glad you’re mine.”  
  
  
Tara held Willow’s hand to her cheek.  
  
  
“I love it when you touch me.”  
  
  
“I love _to_ touch you,” Willow replied softly, “Your skin is so soft.”  
  
  
She leaned in and pressed her nose into Tara’s neck.  
  
  
“Mmm…”  
  
  
Her hand fell down and off from Tara’s hip.  
  
  
“If we didn’t have plans I could stay here all night,” she said with a lascivious grin.  
  
  
Tara blushed. Willow stood out of bed and helped Tara up with a hand.  
  
  
“Okay, Miss Kitty. Take care of the dorm! Your mommies will be back later!”  
  
  
Miss Kitty curled her tail high in the air and went back to sleep.  
  
  
“Adorably but lazy,” Willow surmised, “Like Xander in kitten form.”  
  
  
She giggled at her own joke and Tara looked down for a moment. Willow held the door open and Tara smiled as she passed through. In the hallway, Willow swung her hand into Tara’s.  
  
  
Tara smiled wider. As they walked out of the dorms, they passed many Princess Leias, Waldos, and witch costumes. While listening to Willow mutter something about ‘stereotypes’ as they walked out onto the street, Tara looked around unsurely.  
  
  
She couldn’t be sure that some of these vampire costumes weren’t real vampires.  
  
  
“Is it definitely okay that we’re not helping on patrol tonight?”  
  
  
“Demons are generally quiet on Halloween,” Willow replied sagely with a bob of her head.  
  
  
Tara frowned.  
  
  
“Generally?”  
  
  
“As long as we stay away from costume shops and frat parties, we’ll be fine,” Willow reassured with a squeeze of Tara’s hand.  
  
  
Tara ducked her head and smiled.  
  
  
“So, um, where are we going?”  
  
  
Willow’s eyes flashed with shy excitement.  
  
  
“Well, uh, I heard that there’s a ladies night at a bar across town.”  
  
  
“Is Buffy coming?” Tara asked amenably.  
  
  
Willow’s top teeth dragged over her bottom lip and glanced over at Tara.  
  
  
“More of a…ladies who are into ladies night.”  
  
  
“Oh,” Tara replied, pursing her lips together, “I didn’t know they had anything like that here.”  
  
  
Willow nodded quickly.  
  
  
“I was on the ‘net seeing if there were any more String Cheese Incident concerts we could go to and I found a virtual flier.”  
  
  
Tara swung Willow’s hand and smiled.  
  
  
“Sounds like fun.”  
  
  
“It was that or the aforementioned circus,” Willow replied wryly, “But we deal with enough spooky stuff to subject ourselves to killer clowns on the supernatural night off.”  
  
  
“I’m in,” Tara agreed happily.  
  
  
As they walked through Sunnydale, they encountered more and more people in costume on their way to parties. Tara wondered if being in plainclothes actually made them stand out more.  
  
  
“Should we be in a costume?”  
  
  
“I’m definitely done with Halloween costumes,” Willow said with a shudder going up her back, “The fun is not worth the fallout.”  
  
  
She looked over at Tara and mustered appropriate enthusiasm when she saw her girlfriend frown.  
  
  
“But we can do other Halloween stuff!” she said, spying all around them for something to lift Tara’s spirits, “Like, ooh, candy apples!”  
  
  
She broke her hand off from Tara’s and smiled.  
  
  
“My treat.”  
  
  
She retreated while smiling over her shoulder and went over to the candy apple stand.  
  
  
She was alarmed to find it was manned by a clown.  
  
  
He made a fan of circus tickets.  
  
  
“Can I interest you in tickets to the show tonight? It’s going to be our best show yet.”  
  
  
He then proceeded to squirt Willow with a flower on his chest.  
  
  
Willow spluttered and wiped her chin.  
  
  
“Hey!”  
  
  
A short woman with long, black hair came from behind and draped an arm over the clown.  
  
  
“I’ll take care of this, Dale…”  
  
  
“Yes, Cora,” the clown replied and turned back in the direction of the circus tent, which was just a little bit off in the distance.  
  
  
“Just a couple of candy apples please,” Willow replied quickly, anxious to get back to Tara.  
  
  
Cora placed her fingertips close to where Willow’s hand was hanging.  
  
  
“Are you sure I can’t interest you in the show?” she asked in a sultry tone, then weaved her body around the poles holding the awning up, “I twist my body in all sorts of ways you’ll have to see to believe…”  
  
  
Willow’s heart sped up.  
  
  
A few minutes later, Willow came running up to Tara sans any candy apples but waving two small pieces of stiff paper.  
  
  
“Tara, I got us tickets to the circus!”  
  
  
Tara slowly frowned.  
  
  
“You got us tickets to the circus?” she asked in confusion, “You said they didn’t treat their animals very nicely.”  
  
  
“Oh,” Willow replied and looked over her shoulder, then back to Tara, animated, “It’s animal-free! Just regular cruelty to humans guised as amusement.”  
  
  
Tara crossed her arms across her chest.  
  
  
“What about the killer clowns?”  
  
  
Willow shrugged.  
  
  
“We can watch around them.”  
  
  
“O-Okay,” Tara agreed uncertainly.  
  
  
“Great!” Willow replied and tugged Tara’s hand impatiently, “Let’s go get good seats.”  
  
  
They did get good seats, the best seats in fact, because it was an hour before showtime.  
  
  
Willow seemed so eager all of a sudden and Tara couldn’t bring herself to disappoint.  
  
  
Especially when Willow had stuck up for her when she’d messed up so badly with that spell when her…when her blood kin was in town.  
  
  
It had been a joyous two weeks of freedom and letting go of the past and embracing the future and Tara still couldn’t quite believe that this woman sitting beside her loved her.  
  
  
So she sat quietly and smiled when Willow enthused support for the upcoming show, though did wonder what had made her do a sudden 180 on wanting to attend. Maybe she was trying to make up for not wanting to do costumes? Tara didn’t care too much. She also found the warty depiction of a witch unfair and unnecessarily pejorative. And she definitely didn’t like how people seemed to make fun of other cultures through costume.  
  
  
She’d take Willow in her fluffy kitten sweater any day.  
  
  
The circus was mostly filled with kids hyper on candy and worn-out parents but at least the entertainment was fast enough to accommodate all of this.  
  
  
Willow actually began to look quite uninterested sometime between the jugglers and the unicyclers. Why, Tara didn’t know, as she thought jugglers were some of the most impressive human beings on the planet.  
  
  
Then the music changed and the lights dimmed. A woman appeared, rolling down two silk straps.  
  
  
Willow immediately perked up.  
  
  
“There’s Cora.”  
  
  
“C-Cora?” Tara asked, her eyes slowly moving from Willow to the performer.  
  
  
“She sold me the tickets,” Willow replied excitedly, her eyes wide like saucers.  
  
  
Tara did not like the change in her energy.  
  
  
She glanced back at Cora, who was now arching her back into a crab and pulling her legs into all kinds of fantastical positions.  
  
  
The dads were fixated.  
  
  
Tara looked at Cora again. She frowned.  
  
  
Something was off.  
  
  
The lights flickered back on and Tara could physically feel the sexual energy evaporate like a giant POP! Worryingly, she felt some of that energy rolling off her girlfriend.  
  
  
This was only compounded when Willow turned to Tara before the show had even finished.  
  
  
“Do you want to head out?”  
  
  
Tara looked down and spoke quietly.  
  
  
“Whatever you want, Willow.”  
  
  
Back out in the air, Willow swung her hand into Tara’s and seemed to brighten up again.  
  
  
“Do you think Miss Kitty sees all of the black cats out tonight and thinks they’re dressing up like her?”  
  
  
Tara couldn’t help but smile. Willow seemed more ‘her’ again. She must have been embarrassed that she got conned into circus tickets and was trying to save face before.  
  
  
“I think she wonders why they aren’t all flocking to her as their queen.”  
  
  
Willow giggled.  
  
  
“We should get her a little crown. Oh and a scepter! Opposable thumbs be damned!”  
  
  
Tara squeezed their palms together and grinned, proud to be holding this woman’s hand.  
  
  
The bar was not one Tara had ever been to before, nor heard about. It was the kind of place that usually had a dress code and dress codes generally meant somewhere where neither Willow nor Tara would get in.  
  
  
Halloween meant anything goes, though, and they were let in without question and with compliments for their costumes as ‘Velma and the hippie’.  
  
  
“I’m not even wearing glasses,” Willow pouted as they walked into the club.  
  
  
Tara too wasn’t sure where her costume deduction had come from and sniffed her shoulder to make sure she didn’t still smell like weed. Smelled fresh, she thought. Her floral vest, gypsy skirt, and long, leather jacket had no idea what that guy was talking about.  
  
  
“You’re way cuter than Velma,” she told Willow when Willow looked like she was about to jump into a rant.  
  
  
Under the dark light, Tara just about made out Willow’s blush.  
  
  
The club was a lot different than the Bronze.  
  
  
Apart from the dark lighting, the communal spaces were not set out with pool tables or dartboards but with leather swings and metal cages. On the walls, there were adornments of whips and paddles.  
  
  
“Um…Willow? What kind of club is this?”  
  
  
Willow looked out at the plush red leather seating. Her eyes widened as she took in all of the decor.  
  
  
“…maybe they trap werewolves here?”  
  
  
Tara eyed the swing warily.  
  
  
“I don’t even want to think about what they do to them in that.”  
  
  
The place wasn’t very busy yet but those that were there were all women and they were all drinking cocktails. There was a sexy skeleton and a sexy bumblebee and one brave butch trying to pull off a rough and rugged sexy pirate but it was hard enough to see in this place with two eyes, never mind having a patch over one.  
  
  
They went to the bar and sat on the kind of high stools that made you feel a little disorientated just from getting up on them.  
  
  
The bartender was also a woman, wearing a trouser suit with a black vest and a skinny tie.  
  
  
“What’s your poison?” she asked as she approached with a sultry smile.  
  
  
“I’m thinking a Coke,” Willow replied cheerily.  
  
  
The bartender tried, and failed, to hide her annoyance.  
  
  
“It’s cocktail hour.”  
  
  
“Virgin Cuba Libre, then,” Willow replied, without letting the scowl coming her way deter her pep.  
  
  
The bartender pursed her lips and looked at Tara challengingly.  
  
  
Tara buried her face in the drinks menu and cast her eyes furtively at the woman.  
  
  
“I’ll have the Raspberry Mojito,” she settled on eventually and swallowed her bottom lip nervously for a moment, “H-Hold the rum?”  
  
  
The bartender snatched the menu back. Tara didn’t know if she was annoyed because she anticipated a lower tip from a non-alcoholic drink or that she wouldn’t be able to show off her mixing skills but she didn’t appreciate feeling intimidated like that.  
  
  
She’d spent her whole life feeling like that.  
  
  
And Willow was the one thing that pulled her out of it.  
  
  
No.  
  
  
Being with Willow was the one thing that allowed her the confidence to _pull herself out of it_.  
  
  
She looked over as Willow sipped giddily through the tiny straw and placed her palm on Willow’s thigh. She rubbed there for a moment.  
  
  
She wasn’t sure about the vibe of this place but she did like that she could do this freely.  
  
  
She didn’t think any of the gang was uncomfortable about their relationship, at least not anymore. Though she and Willow were touchy-feely around them, they weren't _touchy-feely_. No more than holding hands or squeezing a shoulder. She was pretty sure Xander was the only one who’d ever contemplated that they had a sexual relationship and she was also sure whatever he imagined wasn’t anything close to reality. So she just didn’t feel the same comfort level as Buffy and Riley or Anya and Xander seemed to when it came to more of an intimate touch or kiss.  
  
  
Sometimes it felt like they never kissed outside of the dorm room as if a censor was waiting on every corner to stop them.  
  
  
Hell, Tara had even seen Mr. Giles macking on Olivia once very early on in her affiliation with the Scoobies.  
  
  
The point was, it was nice to feel in a safe space.  
  
  
There was the sound of rattling chains and Tara looked around cagily.  
  
  
If only that safe space felt a little more…safe.  
  
  
“Oh my god, no way. She’s here.”  
  
  
Tara’s head swung back to Willow and her hand fell away.  
  
  
“Who?”  
  
  
“Cora,” Willow breathed, her eyes fixated over Willow’s shoulder with dilated pupils.  
  
  
She was practically drooling.  
  
  
Suddenly Tara felt a presence brush past her and she shuddered.  
  
  
Then, the contortionist from the circus had her arms around Willow’s shoulders.  
  
  
“Ladies,” she intoned in a deep, sultry voice, then threw her head back and inhaled deeply before eyeing their drinks as if she could smell the lack of alcohol, “Not up for a real drink?”  
  
  
Her clothing had changed; staying black but gone from a bodysuit to leather pants and a shredded top. Even the tattoo poking out from under her throat was solid-black: a crescent moon on a cross. Tara looked at her and her eyes were blue; too blue. Maybe it just seemed that way against all the darkness.  
  
  
But her hands were definitely _too_ all over Willow.  
  
  
“I can’t interest you in a screaming orgasm?” Cora cocked her head so her black hair swished from one side to the other.  
  
  
“Well…” Willow looked up with twinkling eyes, peeled on Cora.  
  
  
“Willow,” Tara said softly.  
  
  
Willow didn’t even look away to address Tara.  
  
  
“It’s just a drink.”  
  
  
They’d already gotten into the bar, no one was going to check their IDs and Tara didn’t particularly care whether Willow drank or not but she’d kind of thought they were on a date what with the lack of any of the others and Willow’s special attention to bring them to a ‘ladies who are into ladies’ night.  
  
  
“Just a drink,” Cora replied with a provocative smile.  
  
  
Willow giggled.  
  
  
The kind of giggle only reserved for Tara.  
  
  
Tara watched Willow’s eyes drop to Cora’s breast, ample and on show.  
  
  
She really couldn’t blame her; they were right there, but still…  
  
  
“I need some air,” she said quietly and stood up.  
  
  
Willow didn’t even seem to notice.  
  
  
Tara walked back outside and down the little side alley outside the club.  
  
  
Why was she suddenly feeling so jealous?  
  
  
She had never felt jealous before.  
  
  
Not even when…  
  
  
But ever since her birthday and the fear of her being a demon being taken away, all of these other fears had started to surface.  
  
  
She never really believed she could have Willow but now she could, really could, and that was scary.  
  
  
She closed her palm around her pendant.  
  
  
Then, out of the corner of her eyes, she caught a flash of contrasting colors. Blue and red and yellow all hideously combined in a pattern even Willow wouldn’t wear.  
  
  
At first, it was just one clown getting access to the storm cellar but then, methodically like they were marching to a beat, three more followed and they all disappeared below the club.  
  
  
Tara frowned.  
  
  
She started to follow, not even recognizing her own bravery, but then a voice called from behind.  
  
  
“Tara,” Willow said, her voice getting closer as she ran up the alleyway, “Tara!”  
  
  
She stepped past her girlfriend, grabbed her arms, and turned around.  
  
  
“There you are,” she said, her eyes looking more like her own again, “I looked over and you weren’t there. What’s wrong?”  
  
  
Tara’s eyes flickered down.  
  
  
“You were flirting with her,” she said quietly and swallowed deeply, “Right in front of me.”  
  
  
Willow looked bewildered.  
  
  
“Flirting? Me? Nuh-uh!”  
  
  
Tara spotted the storm cellar doors start to flap over Willow’s shoulder.  
  
  
“Willow.”  
  
  
Willow threw up her hands.  
  
  
“Okay, she was playful so I was playful back but it wasn’t like—”  
  
  
“Willow,” Tara interrupted in a more urgent tone.  
  
  
Willow frowned, recalling her own behavior but not quite able to remember herself doing it as if she was re-watching an old movie.  
  
  
“I mean, yeah, she has that kind of allure-y thing going on but—”  
  
  
“Willow,” Tara interrupted louder and grabbed Willow’s shoulders.  
  
  
Willow’s head leaned back.  
  
  
“Huh?”  
  
  
Tara exhaled a soft breath.  
  
  
“The clowns are being controlled.”  
  
  
Willow frowned.  
  
  
And people accused her of topic jumps.  
  
  
Pfft.  
  
  
“Well, circuses are known for being a tightly controlled—”  
  
  
“No, Willow,” Tara shook her head, “They’re under demonic possession.”  
  
  
Willow started to scowl.  
  
  
“It’s supposed to be our night off,” she said and stamped her foot, “Giles is never right.”  
  
  
“Mr. Giles is usually very knowledgeable,” Tara replied kindly.  
  
  
Willow was frowning deeply.  
  
  
“How do you know?”  
  
  
Tara’s tone softened.  
  
  
“Well, he owns a lot of books and—”  
  
  
Willow quickly shook her head back and forth.  
  
  
“No, about the clowns.”  
  
  
“Oh,” Tara exhaled, “Their energy is dark…even for a clown. It flows all wrong. Plus, um, unless they’re going as Mummies for Halloween…”  
  
  
She tilted her head forward and Willow turned to watch the clowns marching in that same mechanical way back out from the storm cellar. They didn’t appear to notice anyone else was there and disappeared around the corner.  
  
  
Willow shuddered.  
  
  
“What does a demon even want with clowns?”  
  
  
“Stephen King fan?” Tara suggested.  
  
  
Willow’s face suddenly lit up.  
  
  
“I’ll go check with Cora!”  
  
  
Tara felt her cheeks heat up with anger but her voice still came out meek.  
  
  
“You’re very, um…curious about the contortionist.”  
  
  
Willow chuckled nervously.  
  
  
“Curious? Well, uh, I’m a curious gal! About computers, about magic, about, uh, you, remember?!”  
  
  
Tara frowned and spotted some ink on Willow’s flailing hands.  
  
  
“Is that her number?”  
  
  
Willow looked at her arm in alarm and turned it over so it couldn’t be seen.  
  
  
“This? No,” she said and frowned deeply, then quickly shook her head like trying to get out of a stupor, “We should go do some research.”  
  
  
“At the magic box?” Tara asked.  
  
  
“Nah,” Willow dismissed, “Let the gang have their night off. We can handle a couple of possessed clowns! Can’t be worse than the hyenas.”  
  
  
Tara frowned uncomfortably.  
  
  
“I really think—”  
  
  
“Tara, I can do this!” Willow interrupted, then frowned at herself, “I mean, we can do this.”  
  
  
She glanced away and became animated again.  
  
  
“Cora will be so impressed.”  
  
  
Tara blinked rapidly.  
  
  
“Why would she know anything about this?”  
  
  
Willow’s head pulled back again.  
  
  
“I mean, they’re her colleagues?” she said, sounding confused at her own words, “Probably be appreciative that they’re back to normal…”  
  
  
Willow started to lead them away and Tara looked back unsurely.  
  
  
“Should we check out the storm cellar?”  
  
  
“No way,” Willow shuddered, “There might still be a clown down there.”  
  
  
They hurried back to Tara’s dorm as the Halloween parties started to spill out into the streets. What had once been a perfectly primed Morticia and Gomez Addams were now drunk messes with smeared make-up and people singing an out-of-key version of the theme song every time they were passed by.  
  
  
A Popeye’s muscles had been busted and a Mario was walking around with his mustache hanging limp somewhere decidedly south of his lips.  
  
  
And for some reason they hadn’t noticed earlier, there was _a lot_ of clowns.  
  
  
It looked like a Clown College reunion was being hosted on the lawn of UCSD.  
  
  
“College guys think they’re _so_ funny and relevant when they pull costumes from the news,” Willow rolled her eyes, then shouted out, “Why don’t you honor the death of the LaserDisc, huh?!”  
  
  
“Willow,” Tara breathed, blushing as everyone in the vicinity suddenly looked toward them, “Are you drunk?”  
  
  
“No!” Willow replied defensively, then frowned at herself, “No, I’m not. Tara—”  
  
  
Suddenly she had a headache and clutched her head.  
  
  
“Can we just get home?”  
  
  
Tara looked at Willow with concern and followed as she picked up the pace.  
  
  
Back in Tara’s dorm, Tara started pulling out books on possession.  
  
  
Willow lay on Tara’s bed and palmed through one but wasn’t paying all the much attention. Her eyes were heavy and she had this weird feeling on the base of her spine; like a shiver was threatening to quake through her but never quite materializing.  
  
  
She hoped she wasn’t getting a cold.  
  
  
She had a test on Thursday.  
  
  
Tara stood up from where she was sitting on the floor and carried a heavy tome over to the bed.  
  
  
“Willow, I wonder if it might not be possession but mind con—”  
  
  
Suddenly Willow sat up straight, startling Tara. She looked at Tara and everything drooped.  
  
  
“I can’t keep my eyes open,” she announced and started to slip off the end of the bed, “I need to go to sleep.”  
  
  
Tara nodded evenly.  
  
  
“Okay. I’ll keep researching. Maybe we can tell the gang in the morning…” she trailed off as she watched Willow bending down to tie her sneakers, “Why are you putting your shoes on?”  
  
  
Willow looked at Tara strangely.  
  
  
“I’m going back to my dorm.”  
  
  
“Why?” Tara prompted in confusion.  
  
  
“I’m exhausted,” Willow replied and her tone indicated just that.  
  
  
Tara reached up and scratched under her own ear.  
  
  
“Y-You’re not sleeping here?”  
  
  
Willow’s body suddenly bristled with tension.  
  
  
“I have this weird urge to sleep alone,” she said, looking up at Tara pleadingly as if she was confused by the words coming out of her own mouth.  
  
  
Tara reached out to touch Willow’s cheek.  
  
  
“Willow, are you—”  
  
  
Willow dodged the touch and put her hand on the door handle.  
  
  
“I’ll see you soon.”  
  
  
Tara watched the door close, her eyes pricking with tears.  
  
  
What the hell was going on?  
  
  
Willow’s emotions were bouncing about like a dog with the zoomies, clowns were on the loose and being influenced by some kind of demonic force and Miss Kitty was pawing at the window at the black cats outside, apparently looking to get more action than Tara was going to tonight.  
  
  
Sometimes Tara felt like her life was a TV show.  
  
  
She sank back onto the bed and swallowed deeply, then looked back at her book.  
  
  
At least, in this way, she could be useful.  
  
  
Another hour of trawling through the limited amount of books she had in her dorm passed by. Willow had more, she thought. Willow read so many books and tried so many spells. Too many sometimes.  
  
  
Tara was about to call it a night when an illustration at the bottom of a page caught her eye.  
  
  
She turned her book around and brought it closer. Her brow furrowed.  
  
  
She turned the book back around and read the accompanying text. Her eyebrows quickly shot up again.  
  
  
She looked up and then around, finding her satchel hanging off the side of the chair at her desk. She hurried over and fit the book inside then threw it over her body.  
  
  
Miss Kitty miaowed in frustration at being left alone again and jumped up on the desk.  
  
  
“Sorry, Miss Kitty Fantastico, I have to save your Mommy!”  
  
  
She slipped into her shoes, then spun out of the door and rushed down the hallway, despite the drunken zombies at the doorway trying to block her way with their fake-oozing limbs.  
  
  
She hurried across campus through the swathes of abandoned wigs, bottles, and even some underwear. In Willow’s dorm building, she ran upstairs and her heart leaped into her throat when she saw her girlfriend’s door sitting ajar.  
  
  
As she started to run down the hall, she spotted the door to the stairwell swinging. There was a flash of red, too bright to be Willow’s hair but Tara followed all the same. She burst in through the swinging door so fast she almost fell over the opposite railing. Still, that gave her the chance to look down at the descending flights of stairs.  
  
  
At the bottom, heading for the exit, Tara saw that giant flash of red again.  
  
  
She’d know those shoes anywhere.  
  
  
Clown.  
  
  
She sped down the stairs and through the exit but immediately she was lost in a sea of clowns. Most of them were college students spraying water in each other’s faces or going up to girls to scare them. Every single one of them wore giant, red-and-yellow shoes.  
  
  
Tara stopped in the midst of the partying and closed her eyes.  
  
  
“Hecate, help me see.”  
  
  
She opened her eyes again and suddenly there was a strike of lightning. With there being no rain, nearly every person in the vicinity screamed and fled.  
  
  
The crowd parted enough for Tara to see Willow’s body thrown over the shoulder of the clown she was looking for. Then before Tara could blink, he had disappeared into the shadows. With her girlfriend on his back.  
  
  
No one seemed to think that was odd which made Tara think there were some cloaking charms involved. She and Willow wore protection from those ever since the incident with the Lei-Achs.  
  
  
Hoping she hadn’t just incanted a forest fire into existence, Tara ran in that direction. As she was looking around desperately in the spot Willow had disappeared, she realized she’d been in this place tonight once already. It was directly on the path to the club Willow had taken her to.  
  
  
The club where she’d first spotted the clowns being shady. A light bulb going off over her head, she continued in that direction until she was back in the little alleyway with the storm cellar. She tried to open the doors but they were locked and would only rattle, offering a soundtrack to her desperation.  
  
  
She tugged them harder, then panted in frustration.  
  
  
“Levatel!”  
  
  
The metal handles flew back and Tara nearly went tumbling inside but caught herself before that happened. She threw her legs down into the pit and started to climb down the ladder.  
  
  
At the bottom, everything was very dark.  
  
  
So dark that Tara didn’t even see the two clowns bounding toward her until one had grabbed each arm. They started to carry her away but then a sultry voice called out from behind a curtain that Tara couldn’t even see was there until some light pooled out from under it.  
  
  
“Let her in,” the voice said and the clowns fell away automatically, like a robot being switched off.  
  
  
Tara yanked her arms back and pushed into the velvet curtain. There was low red lighting in the little den, just bright enough so you could make out the bed with satin sheets, the wall of sex toy adornments, and the chains hanging from the ceiling, in which Willow was currently hanging from in a dazed state.  
  
  
“Willow!”  
  
  
Tara rushed over and tried to free her.  
  
  
Standing with an amused smile on her lips, Cora put one hand loosely on her hip.  
  
  
“Oh, you were at the bar,” she grinned in recognition, “Well I’m always up for a threesome. If you both had just stayed there we wouldn’t have had to go through all of this Bozo business. Now how did you get through my doors? Witch, are we? All the yummier.”  
  
  
She took a step forward and Tara put herself between her and Willow.  
  
  
“Get away from her,” she said and glanced back at her girlfriend’s glazed eyes, “You drugged her.”  
  
  
“Just some light mind control,” Cora dismissed with a flick of her hand, “Kinda my thing, don’t you know?”  
  
  
Tara frowned deeply.  
  
  
“Why the clowns, of all people, to do your dirty work?”  
  
  
“The optics, darling,” Cora laughed breezily, “No one asks any more questions when clowns are involved. The perfect scapegoat. Such a unique reputation, those things. Besides, I do the luring, not the dragging. I need muscle.”  
  
  
Tara was hyper-aware of every movement of Cora’s.  
  
  
“Why not just mind control your…your prey to come to you?”  
  
  
“I can tell them to come, but I can’t tell the little darlings not to step out in front of traffic if they’re still asleep, now can I?” Cora rolled her eyes and looked down to check her nails.  
  
  
“Why do you need them asleep?” Tara asked in confusion.  
  
  
Cora looked up, a smile tugging on her lips.  
  
  
“It’s interesting to have a little chat before I feed. Almost makes it like a real date. Sleep is vulnerability. And vulnerability is just so damn tasty. But please, continue.”  
  
  
Tara was starting to wish she’d thought to bring some kind of weapon.  
  
  
“What are you? Succubus?”  
  
  
“Daughter of an incubus and a siren,” Cora replied, her black curls bouncing on her shoulders, “So I enjoy getting…wet.”  
  
  
She moved off impatiently.  
  
  
“Now come along, darling and we’ll make this a party for three.”  
  
  
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Tara replied and managed to keep her voice from quivering, “And neither is she.”  
  
  
“Oh yes you are,” Cora replied in a sing-song voice and crooked her finger, “Come.”  
  
  
Tara remained stone-faced, though panting.  
  
  
Cora lifted her chin.  
  
  
“Come!” she repeated louder and flushed with anger when Tara didn’t, “Why isn’t it working? I said COME!”  
  
  
Suddenly the pendant on Tara’s necklace began to glow. Cora looked at it and her eyes widened.  
  
  
“Stone of flesh and fire,” she whispered and looked up to Tara with fear. It was the first time a demon, or anyone, had looked at Tara like that, “You are descended from a Great One.”  
  
  
Tara didn’t have time to look confused.  
  
  
“And you’re descended from Lilith,” she returned, her heart beginning to pound in her chest as she wondered how she was going to get them out of this all on her own, “H-Haven’t you heard it’s the night off, lady?”  
  
  
“A girl’s gotta eat,” Cora shrugged and arched an eyebrow seductively, “And I’ve been craving strawberries.”  
  
  
From somewhere inside her that was borne when Buffy proclaimed her ‘family’, Tara found the fight in her and found herself pushing forward and swinging her fist at Cora.  
  
  
“She. Belongs. To. Me!”  
  
  
Cora fell right onto her ass and looked up at Tara shocked.  
  
  
No one ever hit her without her permission.  
  
  
She rose to her feet with demonic speed.  
  
  
Suddenly, Willow was beside Tara with the same determined look in her eyes.  
  
  
“I belong to her.”  
  
  
“Willow?” Tara asked, her voice cracking with relief.  
  
  
“Lie back down!” Cora commanded and grew incensed when Willow didn’t comply, “How did you break my spell?!”  
  
  
“True love, bitch,” Willow returned proudly.  
  
  
“Willow, quick!” Tara called over as she yanked the book she’d brought from her satchel.  
  
  
She opened it to the appropriate page she’d marked earlier and found the words they needed. Willow’s arm flew around Tara’s waist and she read over Tara’s shoulder with her.  
  
  
As they chanted, Cora suddenly yelped and jumped off her feet.   
  
  
“You…YOU…WITCHES!”  
  
  
The tap dance continued until she suddenly burst into flames. They shot to the ceiling and then extinguished with a puff and the echo of a scream.  
  
  
Tara’s eyes closed and she swallowed deeply, her heart still hammering out of her chest.  
  
  
“Hey, this is Hebrew,” Willow’s voice broke the sound of blood rushing through Tara’s head.  
  
  
Tara’s brow furrowed.  
  
  
“We don’t get many Jewish demons. It’s kinda nice,” Willow explained with a smile, then her eyes widened, “In a totally icky kinda way. Hey, how did you know this would work?”  
  
  
Tara swallowed again and pointed to the picture on the page.  
  
  
“I saw this symbol tattooed on her earlier,” she explained, “It means she comes from the line of Lilith.”  
  
  
She reached out to grasp Willow’s arm.  
  
  
“How did you break her spell?” she asked, not adding ‘I was scared’.  
  
  
“I didn’t,” Willow replied softly, “You did.”  
  
  
Tara frowned and Willow smiled.  
  
  
“I heard you claim me and I knew where I was supposed to be. Your lure was greater than her lure,” she paused and pressed three fingers to Tara’s cheek, “You don’t just belong to me, Tara. I belong to you, too.”  
  
  
Tara swallowed deeply. Willow leaned in and they hugged.  
  
  
“Did she say you were descendant from a ‘Great One’?” Willow asked as her arms wrapped around Tara.  
  
  
“I don’t know exactly what that means but my family has been witches for a long time,” Tara admitted and her tone turned sad, “And my mother didn’t get to teach me everything she wanted to.”  
  
  
Willow pulled back.  
  
  
“Maybe we could learn together?” she suggested and looked down, “Sometimes, I…”  
  
  
She stopped.  
  
  
Tara took her hand.  
  
  
“Tell me.”  
  
  
Willow looked up; eyes shining with vulnerability, the kind Cora could only yearn for.  
  
  
“Sometimes I feel a lot of pressure to know more. Do more. Help more. And like I’m getting out of my depth,” she said, swallowing repeatedly, “I’ve been afraid to admit that. I’ve always been Helper Gal. I don’t know who else to be. How else to be…”  
  
  
 _Noticed_ , _loved_ , _all of the above_ , she thought but wasn’t quite ready to say it.  
  
  
“It’s not helpful if it’s not safe,” Tara said softly.  
  
  
Willow nodded with a terse smile.  
  
  
“You’d think I’d have learned that by now.”  
  
  
“Me too,” Tara replied and they both looked at the floor.  
  
  
“Oh, her bracelet got left behind,” Willow said and bent down to pick up the leather accessory, “Who wears a ping pong ball wrapped around their wrist?”  
  
  
Tara’s cheeks flushed.  
  
  
“I, um, don’t think that’s a ping pong ball.”  
  
  
Willow looked at it strangely then dropped it quickly.  
  
  
“Ew!”  
  
  
She wiped her hands on her jeans.  
  
  
“Hopefully she’ll meet Vamp-Me in hell and they can have a grand old time.”  
  
  
Tara held Willow’s elbow.  
  
  
“We should get out of here.”  
  
  
Willow nodded and they made their way back out of the curtain. It was, of course, still pitch black down there, so Willow waved a hand.  
  
  
“Fiat lux.”  
  
  
When light burst out through the cellar, Tara frowned that Willow had done that without needing a potion.  
  
  
She didn’t have too much time to ponder it, though, as the two clowns looked like they were waking up.  
  
  
“Forgot about the clowns,” Willow muttered out of the corner of her mouth as they stood in dazed confusion, “Hey, thanks for the help!”  
  
  
The clowns looked at each other.  
  
  
“Uh…”  
  
  
“Couldn’t have done it without you,” Willow added on cheerily, hoping her pep would dissuade questions.  
  
  
One clown scratched his head.  
  
  
“Um, what did we do?”  
  
  
 _Drat_ , Willow thought.  
  
  
Then she spotted a little black-and-white head pop out of Tara’s bag and plucked her up.  
  
  
“You saved our kitty!”  
  
  
“We did?” the other clown asked.  
  
  
“Uh-huh,” Willow replied with a disarming grin, then moved to the side when they tried to look past the curtain, “Don’t look in there. Kitten, uh…made a mess.”  
  
  
One clown then grasped the other’s shoulder.  
  
  
“Come on, Dale, Jed will kill us if we’re not back by curfew,” he looked down at himself, “And that we’re out in costume. I don’t even remember us getting high this time.”  
  
  
“No more purple kush, man,” the other agreed as they made their way up the ladder and out of the storm cellar.  
  
  
Tara and Willow followed.  
  
  
“You brought Miss Kitty Fantastico on a rescue mission?” Willow questioned with an arched eyebrow.  
  
  
Tara shook her head.  
  
  
“I didn’t know she was in there. She must have sneaked in when I was leaving.”  
  
  
“She is a sneaky cat,” Willow smiled and lifted Miss Kitty above her head, “Saving your Mommies’ butts. Yes, you are. Yes, you are.”  
  
  
Tara frowned as she clowns disappeared ahead of them.  
  
  
“I hope they don’t get arrested for being involved in this.”  
  
  
“In this town? I wouldn’t worry. Plus, they’re about to leave again for less supernatural pastures,” Willow said reassuringly.  
  
  
They climbed out of the cellar and Willow handed Miss Kitty back to Tara, who tried to look at her sternly but failed and smiled instead. She put the kitty back in the satchel.  
  
  
Willow let the cellar doors slam closed and wiped her hands together.  
  
  
“Hey, maybe we can come back and use her love nest sometime,” she grinned but it faltered when she saw the unamused look on Tara’s face, “Or not.”  
  
  
They turned toward the street together. It was a lot quieter now as the witching hour set in.  
  
  
Willow glanced at Tara and stepped a little closer to her, so their arms brushed as they walked.  
  
  
“Samhain started at sunset. Kinda…missed it in all the chaos.”  
  
  
“Did you want to set a ritual bonfire?” Tara asked softly.  
  
  
“Nah. Those wanna-blessed-bes are already doing that,” Willow shook her head and smiled sidelong at Tara, “I wouldn’t object to the naked dancing, though. Perhaps…alone.”  
  
  
Tara’s lips quirked up on one side.  
  
  
“Would we hold the traditional feast?”  
  
  
Willow’s smile filled her face.  
  
  
“There could be feasting.”  
  
  
“What about communicating with the dead?” Tara asked with mock-seriousness.  
  
  
“I bumped into Spike earlier on my way to your dorm,” Willow replied, laughing softly, “Requirement satisfied.”  
  
  
Tara smiled and took a soft breath.  
  
  
“You are right though, it is Samhain. We should pay our respects. I always did with my mother. It’s the festival of darkness. We have to acknowledge that if we want to use the light. Appreciate the balance.”  
  
  
Willow looked ahead slowly then nodded.  
  
  
“You’re right. Been doing more taking than giving lately,” she paused, her heart pounding. Demons she could handle, but emotional vulnerability? Not so much, “I think I might need you to keep me in check.”  
  
  
Tara looked at Willow slowly.  
  
  
“I-I worry…I’m not enough.”  
  
  
Willow frowned.  
  
  
“What do you mean? With magic?”  
  
  
Tara gulped.  
  
  
“You're way beyond me there! In just a few — I mean… it frightens me how powerful you're getting. The Tinkerbell light and I know you’ve been working on teleportation spells and it’s just so advanced…”  
  
  
Willow stopped in the middle of the empty street.  
  
  
“ _I_ frighten you?”  
  
  
Tara stopped too and frowned.  
  
  
“I worry, sometimes. You're, you're changing so much, so fast. I don't know where you're heading.”  
  
  
“Where I'm heading?” Willow repeated with her tone somewhere between anger and sorrow.  
  
  
Tara looked down.  
  
  
“I'm saying everything wrong,” she said in an echoing whisper.  
  
  
Willow’s face hardened.  
  
  
“No, I think you're being pretty clear. This isn't about the witchcraft. It's about the other changes in my life.”  
  
  
Tara looked up with deeply creased eyes.  
  
  
“I trust you. I just…” she stopped, pain flashing in her eyes, “I don't know where I'm gonna fit in… in your life when…”  
  
  
“When… I change back?” Willow scoffed, “Yeah, this is a college thing, just a, a little experimentation before I get over the thrill and head back to boys' town. That’s what you think, isn’t it?”  
  
  
Tara tensed. How did they get from talking about squatting in a demon’s love nest to this so quickly?  
  
  
“Willow, not here.”  
  
  
“Answer me!” Willow replied with furious indignation that made her eyes darken intensely, “Which is it? The magic or the fact that you can’t take me seriously for having the audacity to have you be the only woman I’ve ever fallen in love with? And sorry if I don’t include the sucking Succubus that just tried to charm the life out of me!”  
  
  
“Both,” Tara replied, a quiet cry rising in her throat, “I’m scared of both. I-I’m scared of losing you. To anything. To anyone.”  
  
  
She clutched the pendant on her necklace.  
  
  
“And I can’t keep you safe around my neck,” she looked away shamefully as a tear escaped, “I couldn’t even keep you safe tonight on my arm tonight.”  
  
  
Willow’s anger completely dissipated upon seeing her love break down.  
  
  
“I don’t want to frighten you,” she said gently, “I love you.”  
  
  
She reached out and clutched Tara’s arms.  
  
  
“And you saved me, tonight, Tara. You. And if you asked me to give up magic right now, I would. If I had to do that to keep you, I would!”  
  
  
Tara looked up quickly.  
  
  
“I don’t want that. Magic can be used in a good way. We used it tonight. And we fight so much darkness…we need our light. There’s something big out there after us, always. I just want us to be safe. Together.”  
  
  
Willow leaned in and pressed their foreheads together.  
  
  
“That’s all I want too. How can I convince you I’m not going to…?”  
  
  
Tara shook her head softly.  
  
  
“You don’t owe me that. I owe you my trust.”  
  
  
“And I’ll live up to it. I promise,” Willow said softly, then whispered under her breath, “I saw an old phrase in that book you brought I heard my Dad say sometimes. Adapting a bit for gender, but it means ‘I love you’. Ani ohevet otakh.”  
  
  
The pendant began to glow again between them.  
  
  
Tara looked down at it, then reached behind and unclasped it. She put it on Willow’s neck and secured it.  
  
  
“I think I was meant to give this to you.”  
  
  
Willow looked down and back at her girlfriend.  
  
  
“Tara, I couldn’t.”  
  
  
Tara touched the pendant softly.  
  
  
“It’s a carnelian. That name comes from the Latin ‘carnis’, which means ‘flesh’, I’m sure you know. Anyway, I think it has powers that are passed down from flesh to flesh,” she sighed, “My flesh was never that good to me. So now I pass it to you with trust and love that transcends the flesh. I don’t just trust you with my life. I trust you with my soul.”  
  
  
Willow touched the stone with Tara.  
  
  
“I’ll keep it safe,” she said and looked deep into that soul, “You’re my Great One.”  
  
  
Tears filled her eyes.  
  
  
“Emphasis on ‘One’,” she said emphatically, “And if I EVER say I want to sleep alone again, there is DEFINITELY something afoot, okay? Because I would never. I don’t even know how to sleep without you.”  
  
  
“I love you, Willow,” Tara replied in an echoing tone.  
  
  
Willow lifted a hand to hold Tara’s face.  
  
  
“I love you so much, Tara.”  
  
  
Under the moonlight, alone but out in the open, they kissed.  
  
  
Neither saw, but the stone glowed between them, considering their flesh as one.  
  
  
When they parted, both were smiling.  
  
  
“Still wanna swing by the ritual bonfire?” Willow asked as their fingers linked between them.  
  
  
Tara smiled crookedly.  
  
  
“I think there’s enough of a fire in my belly to…satisfy the requirement.”  
  
  
Willow laughed.  
  
  
“And I never doubt your promise of satisfaction,” she bumped Tara’s hip gently, “Who says a couple of witches can’t kick ass? You pummeled her!”  
  
  
Tara blushed but didn’t avert her gaze.  
  
  
“Did you see the part where my fist actually hit her face?”  
  
  
“It was right square on her jaw!” Willow gushed, “I was so proud. It didn’t look anything like swimming!”  
  
  
“I-Is it bad that I’ve kind of always wanted to punch something?” Tara asked unsurely, “At least since watching you be a cool monster fighter. I’ve even considered axing.”  
  
  
Willow pulled a face.  
  
  
“Oh, you should hold out on that one. Axe can equal ick very quick. You want to be sure there isn’t a lot of goo coming your way. Plus you need to be mad enough to have the momentum to swing…that’s a long-term goal. But don’t worry, my love, we’ll get you there. Together.”  
  
  
“Together,” Tara agreed and they shared a smile of promise to each other.  
  
  
With steps more like skips, they walked back to the dorm free in the knowledge that no vampires would be on the prowl tonight to disturb their love bubble.  
  
  
And just in case, they had Tara’s right hook.


End file.
